ACTIVITIES There'sa m om enteveryautum n when a child spotstheirfirstconker,and som ething switcheson.Itdoesn'tm aterhow m any they'vecolected before -thatshiny,deep brown shelstilgetspicked up,turned over, and pocketed liketreasure.The traditonal gam eisbriliant,butconkershavequietly earned a reputation asoneofnature'sbest freetoys,and there'sa lotm oreyou can do with a handfulbeforetheyshrivelup on the windowsil. 1.Conkersorting and counting. Foryoungerchildren,conkersarea briliant hands-on m athstool.Sortbysize,linethem up biggestto sm alest,orsim plycounthow m anyyou'vefound onthewalkhom e.No worksheetrequired. 2.Conkerpainting. Dab a conkerin paintand rolitaround insidea shoeboxlined with paper.The wobbly,unpredictabletrailitleavesisoddly satisfying -and a genuinelydiferentkind of "painting"forkidswho'vedoneeveryother version going. There'sm oreto Autum n'sfavourite find,thana string & a dare 3.A ConkerOlym pics. Setup sim plechalengesin thegarden or park:whocanrolonefurthest,balance them oston a spoon,orgetoneinto a bucketfrom a distance.Zero equipm ent, instantentertainm ent. 4.Conkercreatures. W ith a bitofhelp (and m aybea cocktail stickortw o),conkersm ake surprisingly good m inianim als-add a few twigsfor legsand you'vegota hedgehog,a spider, orwhateverelseim agination decideson the day. 5.A ConkerTrailJar. Keepajam jaronthewindowsilandadd oneconkerfrom everyautum n walk. W atching thecolection grow overa few weeksturnsanordinarywalkinto som ething to lookforward to.Thebestbit? Noneofthisneedsplanning,kit,oreven leaving yourusualrouteto theshops.Just eyesopen,pocketsready,and a wilingnes to stop fortwo m inuteswhen som eoneshouts"found one!" Five Thingsto Do W ith Conkers W hetheryou’recounting,painting,com peting orjust enjoying,besureto havefun thisConkerseason! 26
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